Callous & dismissive. Reduced my 82 year old mum to tears.
This is an awful surgery and I’d strongly advise people to avoid. As others have said, there is a cultural problem as the issues go beyond just one rogue staff member.
My elderly mum recently moved down to live with us, from Nottinghamshire. She has a couple of degenerative eye conditions, she’s partially sighted and this could get worse if not well managed. She also has hearing loss and multiple sclerosis. When my mum tried to book an appointment with the GP to discuss some concerns including a recent deterioration in her eyesight, the receptionist advised that the doctor would triage her request and get back to her. A few days later she received an answerphone message from the GP advising her to go to Specsavers! She had wanted to discuss issues in addition to her eyesight but didn’t want to make a fuss so didn’t press the matter. A while later she wanted to order her repeat prescription medication and enquired how she should do this. At her previous GP surgery in Nottinghamshire the GP and pharmacy took care of everything so she would automatically receive her medication monthly and she would only go for a meds. review once a year. The receptionist at Hove Medical Centre was again dismissive and just advised she needed to order every month via the NHS app. When my mum said that she struggles with apps due to her eyesight and lack of dexterity in her fingers, the receptionist said - in what my mum said was quite a cold, irritated way - that she should find someone to help her. Obviously, as her daughter, I’m more than happy to help with these sorts of things but my mum is fiercely independent and trying desperately to hold on to as much independence and dignity as possible. It seems incredibly cruel to not even make an attempt to help my mum retain a bit of independence from relying on others for her basic health needs. Nor to speak with basic kindness to a frail and elderly patient. I found my mum in tears after this call as she said she felt so useless and was also worried about her deteriorating eyesight. After this call I went into the surgery to speak to the receptionist to ask if there is any way whatsoever to automate my mum’s regular medicine ordering and I also found the receptionist to be cold, dismissive and giving the distinct impression that my presence was inconveniencing her. She advised me to speak to the local Boots pharmacy as there was noting the surgery could do. This sort of attitude from a GP’s receptionist, who will, on a daily basis, be dealing with vulnerable patients is really quite shocking and saddening. The fact that others who have also submitted reviews of Hove Medical Centre have experienced similar issues with both the receptionist and GPs suggests that our experience wasn’t a one off and that the surgery has some systemic, cultural challenges. (I should say there is a male receptionist at the surgery who seems from the little interaction I’ve had to be slightly more compassionate and helpful).